Part 61 (1/2)

2. a.n.a.lyze the elements that make up the charm of Stanislaus. Aside from the pathetic, what is the strongest interest?

3. How does Miss Julia help to prolong the suspense?

4. Would the story have been as powerful if it were entirely tragic?

5. Would the story have gained if Stanislaus were presented in direct contrast to the other blind children? Why would a longer story have been weaker?

6. Does the dialect contribute to the charm of the story? What is the real function of dialect?

7. Does the ending seem a makes.h.i.+ft to avoid a difficulty? How has the author succeeded in making the ending not only possible but probable?

A SOLDIER OF THE LEGION

E. MORLAE was an American who, in the early days of the Great War, enlisted in the French Army and became a Soldier of the Legion. Many of his war experiences are graphically told in his various articles in _The Atlantic Monthly_.

'We spent our time eating and sleeping, mildly distracted by an intermittent bombardment': these were the breathing spells; active work found a.n.a.logy only in the regions below. Yet either adventure was told with equal calm. That is what impresses one in Sergeant Morlae's narrative. It is so grimly calm, almost impersonal. There is no careless enthusiasm, excited hilarity, or mad vengeance--simply a job to be done.

The enemy alive present a target; dead, a source of added comfort for one's self, a souvenir for one's brother, or, if need be, material for a parapet. One's life before and after has nothing to do with the present.

And this is even more terrible for what it leaves unsaid.

There is, however, no lack of vividness in _A Soldier of the Legion_.

The matter-of-factness of the telling deceives us only for a time, until the intrusion of a crisp, 'h.e.l.l kissed us welcome'; or, more significant still, 'And we were counted: eight hundred and fifty-two in the entire regiment, out of three thousand two hundred who entered the attack on the 25th of September.'

_Suggested Points for Study and Comment_

1. Does the conversational tone of the narrative make it any the less vivid?

2. When is the author's power of vivid portrayal most apparent?

3. What ideas do you get of the Legion's views of the enemy? Contrast it with other war stories you have read. Could it be accounted for by the type of men who entered the Foreign Legion?

4. What in the author's account suggests the general morale of the troops?

5. What does the grimness of the occasional bits of humor convey as to the mental state of the men? What do these occasional jokes gain by their very scarcity?

6. What new ideas of war come to you from Sergeant Morlae's account?

THE BOULEVARD OF ROGUES

MEREDITH NICHOLSON has won most of his popularity as a novelist. He is, however, an accomplished essayist, a poet of distinction, and a keen critic of current literary and political matters. More recently, he has become interested in the writing of short stories. His home is in Indianapolis, where he was privileged to enjoy for many years an intimate friends.h.i.+p with James Whitcomb Riley, whose character Mr.

Nicholson has sympathetically portrayed in his novel, _The Poet_, and in an illuminating essay in _The Atlantic Monthly_ for October, 1916.

Propaganda in such disguise needs no apology. Not only can we appreciate the cleverness of the trick as well as the earnestness of its author, but we relish what a very good thing a similar lesson would be for our own or for our neighboring cities.

At the same time, there is a worth-while character-study to be made of the Chairman of the Committee on Art, who presents a type almost as rare in fiction as it is in life.